Whom did the Olympic Committee of Slovenia give its highest honour?
The open letter by Federico Pignatelli della Leonessa raises questions about integrity, the accountability of institutions and trust in the rule of law.
This April, the Olympic Committee of Slovenia awarded attorney Tjaša Andree Prosenc the title of the first honorary member in the organisation's history. It is a recognition meant to represent the highest expression of standing, integrity and a lifelong contribution to society.
This raises a simple question. Did the decision-makers actually know to whom they were granting this title?
Because of the symbolic weight of the award, Federico Pignatelli della Leonessa addressed an open letter to the leadership of the Olympic Committee of Slovenia, drawing attention to a very different picture of the person who received it.
For him, this question has nothing to do with sport. It has to do with the responsibility of institutions, which through their decisions shape public role models and grant moral legitimacy to the people they present as an example to society.
A family story interwoven with tragedy
Federico Pignatelli della Leonessa is an heir of the Ljubljana Mayer family, one of the most successful business families in Ljubljana before the Second World War. Their story weaves together periods of great business success and periods of severe tragedy.
Emerik Mayer, a successful merchant and the owner of the well-known building at Wolfova 1 in Ljubljana, was arrested, tortured and killed after the war, even though he had helped partisan families. The family property was confiscated. His daughter Doris Mayer was exiled together with the family and spent most of her life abroad.
After Slovenia gained independence, denationalisation proceedings returned part of the seized property to the family. During that period the family was represented by attorney Tjaša Andree Prosenc, whom the family trusted completely. That trust, it turned out, was abused. Federico Pignatelli della Leonessa has for years been fighting the corruption with which, in his account, the judicial authorities shield the fraud he suffered.
Allegations of abused trust and disputed property transfers
In his open letter, Federico Pignatelli della Leonessa sets out allegations of abused trust, disputed changes in the court register of the company Eurocapital, document forgery and conduct that allegedly made it possible to acquire part of the property at Wolfova 1.
According to him, Tjaša Andree Prosenc today owns an apartment in the building at Wolfova 1, while her son Gregor Prosenc owns commercial premises there, even as the Mayer family has spent years trying to secure the legal return of the property taken from it.
A special place in the story belongs to his late mother, Doris Mayer, who after decades of living in Italy barely understood the Slovenian language or the complex legal procedures. Her son maintains that the exploitation of her vulnerability was the key element in the acts through which part of the family's property was taken away.
Why the Wolfova 1 case goes beyond a private dispute
The Wolfova 1 case has long ceased to be merely a question of one property or one family. In his letter, Federico Pignatelli della Leonessa points out that throughout these years he has had no effective legal protection, even though he has initiated numerous proceedings and used every available legal remedy.
It is a question every citizen understands. What happens when a person trusts a lawyer, trusts the institutions and trusts the rule of law, only to end up the victim of fraud?
An important part of the letter is also the question of the influence of political and social networks of power. Federico Pignatelli della Leonessa points to the long-standing ties between Tjaša Andree Prosenc and influential circles of the former communist elite, which in his view has for years raised the question of whether the same rules apply to everyone in Slovenia.
The letter to the Olympic Committee of Slovenia
At the heart of the letter is a simple question. Before granting its highest recognition, did the Olympic Committee of Slovenia also examine the other side of the story of the person it presents as a symbol of honour, integrity and moral authority?
In the view of Federico Pignatelli della Leonessa, an institution that grants such a recognition does not reward sporting achievements or functions alone. It also confers a symbolic seal of trust and standing. That is precisely why he believes the public has the right to know the open questions that have followed the name of Tjaša Andree Prosenc for years.
Justice must not be a matter of influence, connections or position. Justice is the foundation of the rule of law. When people get the feeling that rules apply to some and connections to others, the trust on which every democratic society rests begins to erode.
You can read the full open letter from Federico Pignatelli della Leonessa to the Olympic Committee of Slovenia here.